


Collection of Ideas

by CheetahLeopard2



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Birthday, Demons, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Drabble Collection, Father of the Bride AU, Mermaids, Multi, Mutual Pining, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Psychosis, Shapeshifting, Urban Fantasy, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 13,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25854025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheetahLeopard2/pseuds/CheetahLeopard2
Summary: A collection of unfinished ideas for Haikyuu!!
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Ennoshita Chikara/Terushima Yuuji, Akaashi Keiji/Matsukawa Issei/Tendou Satori/Terushima Yuuji, Hanamaki Takahiro/Iwaizumi Hajime/Matsukawa Issei/Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Terushima Yuuji, Oikawa Tooru/Semi Eita
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Bokuto Koutarou Existed in Quiet (Sept 20th, 2017)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all  
> I never thought this day would come, but here it is:  
>  **I'm finished writing for Haikyuu.**  
>  I can't stand spending hours, days, at this point years of my life writing and only getting a few comments. I wrote a 8k-ish fic for a zine that I posted in January and got 2 comments on it. 254 people read it and didn't comment. This is just one example. I can not begin to tell you how disheartening it has been for me to give my heart and soul to create content for Haikyuu!! and get less and less feedback the more I give.  
> I'm so tired, and I'm done. I'm writing for other fandoms here and there, when I can't get something out of my head. The fandom I'm enjoying writing for recently is Assassination Classroom because everyone's so kind and responsive.  
> I may occasionally post a mental health fic or smth w Haikyuu!! characters, but honestly don't expect anything.  
> I'm not going too far back in my drive, simply because of how much my writing has improved since I started in 2015. I think the oldest WIPs I'll post will be from 2017.
> 
> Here is where I'll post hq!! ideas and wips as I find them in my files, but don't expect many (if any) to ever be finished by me. I'll be clearing out probably hundreds of small fic ideas, and I hope that people enjoy them despite their incomplete/abandoned status.

Bokuto Koutarou existed in quiet. Others, those he’s close to, might argue differently.

It’s a simple truth, spiraling in Koutarou’s head like a secret no one else would believe. 

He had heard a greek myth like that once, of a girl who spoke unbelieved prophecies. He felt like that a lot more than he cared to admit, spouting random facts and keeping simple truths to be believed by only himself, whispered only into the dark of him room after everyone has gone to bed and he can kick off the sheets and let the cool night air shift him into a liminal space. In his head thoughts are muted, soft colors drifting into focus as the become relevant. 

It’s the sweet air of the summer before he is officially a high school student, and when people first meet him, they at first think he is average. Normal. Nothing to write home about. 

**** _ Sometimes, he wonders what it would be like to be someone to write home about. _

He tries to be polite when people meet him, ignoring the kaleidoscope of thoughts that are brought to the forefront of his mind as possible sentence starters except when they make him seem like he didn’t just seriously consider inserting socks into the conversation about America’s disaster of a president. He comes off as funny, sometimes, when one of his colors clicks just right into the puzzle that is conversation.

He’d heard the word earnest years ago, when his mother had chuckled at something he said right. “So earnest!” were her exact words. You could say he had taken them to heart, or that he had grown into an expectation.

Koutarou likes to think that he took the word and reformed it and himself to better suit each other.

Which leads him to today, a soft breeze making the corner of his gaze flick to the shifting curtains every so often. With it comes the smell that that summer had so far brought; the burning tar of the roads, the popsicles the other children enjoy from the store the next street over, the shrill shrieks from the playground that preserves a patch of green in the city, and freshly mown grass. 

This breeze seems to prompt Koutarou to play, however absorbed as he is in his well-loved collectors edition of the first book in the series Guardians of Ga’Hoole, the rest of the books stacked and spread about him on the top bunk of the bunk bed he shares with his brother.

His brother, come to think of it, had actually been the one to give Koutarou the first book. A gift for his 12th birthday, after which Koutarou had searched everywhere for the rest. Now, turning 16 in a few weeks, his collection is nearly complete, missing only The  Rise Of A Legend .

For now, though, he ignores the breeze. At least for another chapter, because tomorrow is the second training camp he’ll attend for the volleyball club of Fukurodani, which he’d be joining officially when school starts. For now, there was a training camp, after which fines were due, and he’d be in. A part of the team. Well, not first string, but he’d work hard! And that means he has to rest today.

Koutarou had had it drilled into his head by his doctor mom- stressing out- even physically- the day before something, be it a test, a game, or a training camp, was always worse than going steady up to the day before then resting well and being ready the day of. 

Besides, it’s not like anyone will stick around after Koutarou feels comfortable with them, because when he gets comfortable, he forgets all about matching colors with the conversation and blurts out the first thought to come into his head. He’s hard to handle, and Koutarou can understand that. He tires himself out when he gets loud, easily read to slip back into being quiet.

Not that his loud moments are a bad thing, Koutarou rather thinks of it as something he has to build up stamina for. His parents are pretty much the only people who know him loud, that summer.

Although, the training camp tomorrow may hold some surprises. After all, everyone there will like the same thing as him. Volleyball.


	2. mutual pining iwaoi birthday wingfic (July 20th, 2019)

Tooru wakes up slowly, savoring the taste of clean air coming through the windows and the warmth of his sheets.

It’s his birthday. He probably has a lot of birthday wishes waiting for him when he gets up. Probably will go downstairs to find his family and friends waiting for him. Probably should get up.

But Tooru doesn’t care- not yet.

He’s barely conscious, with dreams still playing out across his eyelids even as his thoughts break through them. 

There’s a strong gust of wind that rustles the curtains and plays across his face, ruffling his hair and making him aware of just how warm he is under his blankets.

Frowning slightly, Tooru squints his eyes tighter shut in defiance, even as he gives in and uses his left wing to raise the blanket above him. 

Oh well, there’s really no point in drawing it out any longer. He has to get up. 

Yawning, Tooru finally sits up, pushing the sheets off and slowly opening each wing to get the kinks out.

He only bothers with his hair. It’s the weekend, after all.

Making his way down the stairs, Tooru can already smell that his dad had made a fresh batch of milkbread for him.

Of course, he’d probably had help from one of Hajime’s dads, and Tooru can’t help but smile at the fact that he had more than one family excited about his birthday.

Although- if he and Hajime ever got married they’d be his in-laws…

Tooru hesitates briefly and shakes his head. He’s being silly! Hajime… Hajime didn’t like him that way. They’re best friends, and platonic love is likely the only love Hajime will ever feel towards him.

The thought hurts just as much as it does the first time he thought it, and Tooru can’t help the slight shake in his wings.

Coughing into his hand, Tooru forces his feelings away.

It’s his birthday and  _ he’s going to enjoy it _ .

As soon as he clears the last step Hajime’s mom crushes him in a hug, fake-crying about how Tooru used to be “so small! And now he’s such a mans!”

Tooru hugs back with a laugh, all of his sadness melting away.

The celebration begins. At some point Takahiro and Issei trap him in a corner to give him his present from them early with more than a few jokes at his expense and more than a few genuine laughs shared between all of them.

Hajime finds him talking with his parents, the three of them reminiscing with Tooru about past birthdays. 

“Hey, let’s go outside.”

It’s a bit unexpected, but honestly Tooru doesn’t mind at all as Hajime grabs his hand and begins leading him away.

He catches Issei’s eye on the way out, and Issei winks with a “Have fun” gesture. For once, Tooru doesn’t blush and look pointedly away, instead winking back with a thumbs up.

The last thing Tooru sees past the closing door is Issei laughing.


	3. MATT soulmates au ver 1 (Issei teleported to Yuuji) (April 19th, 2020)

Yuuji’s birthday was… a bit of a mess, if he’s honest with himself. 

The day itself went fine, he was the mess. 

Living in a world where soulmates exist always has you aware, on some level, of the torn edges of your soul. But Yuuji’s never felt it so intensely before. 

He had been forced awake, at 4:30 am- the time he was born- by an intense tugging and burning that he felt but couldn’t pinpoint the location of. A kind of visceral pain. He laid in his bed alone until the sun rose, body convulsing and muscles randomly spasming as his body adjusted to the feeling of acutely missing someone he knows nothing about.

It’s almost terrifying. 

Different people have different soulmate markers, that generally come about as the sun sets on their 17 birthday.

Given the tugging on Yuuji’s very being, it’s not all that surprising when his markers come in.

A compass on his wrist, a red string of fate, and a countdown to 4:30am the next morning.

Yuuji wasn’t really sure what to make of that last one, so he decided to just go to bed and see what happens when he wakes up in the morning.

\---

Yuuji is awoken by a searing pain on his wrist, with thirty seconds left. He sighs, sitting up and using the remote to turn on the light. Why couldn’t he have been born at a more reasonable time?

Yuuji’s wrist beeps that time’s up, and the sound is joined by a second beep, and a very attractive guy is suddenly in his room.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, before Attractive Guy clears his throat, “Uh, hi. I’m Matsukawa Issei, I guess we’re soulmates?” 

“I’m Terushima Yuuji,” Yuuji replies, “Do you want something to drink or something?” 

Issei smiles, “That would be great, thanks.”

Yuuji swings his legs over the side of his bed, stretching as he stands with a yawn. Issei clears his throat, and Yuuji looks over at him curiously, seeing that his face has gone red and he’s looking away.

Yuuji realizes all at once that he’s just in his boxers and shorts, and blushes as well. He gestures to the dresser that Issei’s standing in front of, “Excuse me.”

Issei steps to the side, and as Yuuji grabs a shirt there’s the sound of a phone ringing.

“Sorry,” Issei says, “I was with my friends to see what the countdown meant, I should take this.”

Yuuji nods, “Of course man, go ahead. I’ll go get some drinks.”

Yuuji’s careful not to make a lot of noise as he makes his way down the stairs to the kitchen, only to freeze when he actually reaches the kitchen.

His sister smiles at him from where she’s leaning against the counter, “Your countdown just ended, right?”

Yuuji nods, slowly backing out of the kitchen.

“No you don’t,” his sister grabs his arm before he can escape, whirling him around so she’s blocking the door “what happened? Did you get a new mark or something?”

“Or something,” Yuuji admits, and before he says anything else, he sees Issei round the corner into the kitchen and freeze.

His sister follows his gaze, “What are you looking- Oh.”

Issei waves, “Uh, hi.”

“Hi,” she replies, before turning to punch Yuuji in the shoulder, “What the fuck, bro? Since when do you have taste?”

“Hey!” Yuuji says at the same time Issei says, “Thanks?”

“Are you his soulmate or did he sneak you in?” she continues, ignoring Yuuji protesting that he’s never snuck anyone in.

“I’m his soulmate, Matsukawa Issei. Are you Yuuji’s sister?”

“Akiko Terushima, nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Issei echos.

“I’ll leave you two alone, then,” Akiko winks as she leaves, and Yuuji shakes his head at her.

“She’s fun,” Issei remarks, and Yuuji sighs.

“What do you want to drink?” 


	4. Ennoakateru wingfic (March 20th, 2019)

It was all Keiji’s idea.

Things like these usually were, the things that turned the trepidation pulsing in Chikara’s mind to elation and fondness that fills his heart and memories that make the best of his days.

This time though, is the first night that he’s going to be able to bring Yuuji along.

It’s also going to be Yuuji’s ‘initiation’.

Keiji objected when he called it that, but his glinting smile had revealed the truth.

This is going to be a good night.

Yuuji’s heard a lot about Akaashi Keiji. He’s Chikara’s beloved childhood friend of course. (he doesn’t think too hard about the love Chikara feels equally for him and Keiji.) (But he can’t help but wonder if it’s truly equal. Who Chikara would choose if Keiji confessed and didn’t like him.)

It’s nearing half past midnight when Chikara shakes him awake, his feathers trembling in anticipation, “It’s time.”

Chikara says that Keiji told him that he’ll be “at the usual place”. Yuuji nods in understanding, knowing that Chikara can’t see him from where he’s pulling Yuuji behind him, hand wrapped around his wrist. His swallows and wishes the bitter pang in his gut would go away. He’s not jealous, just insecure and a bit resigned to the inevitable fact the Chikara will leave him for Keiji someday. 

His bright yellow wings- speckled here and there with white and tan feathers- probably stand out like a beacon against the night, but Yuuji can’t help but feel less vibrant and more subdued. 

They find Keiji sitting on a wall, one knee up for his arm to rest on with his head turned up to the stars.

“Keiji!” Chikara calls, and he turns his face from the stars to look at them, his knee going down so that he can drop from the wall. Keiji flaps his wings a bit when he lands gracefully, in almost slow motion, his feet alighting the ground as though he’d been levitating and reaching down for it, and his wings settle on his back with the black, gold-veined feathers shimmering slightly in the moonlight. When his eyes catch Yuuji's his mouth is suddenly dry and when he speaks Yuuji wants to kneel for him. He knows in an instant that this man could raise armies, quell uprisings, slow a man's beating heart and Yuuji would die willingly at his feet if it meant his last view would be that slight upturn of lips.

“I know right?” Chikara whispers in his ear, hand coming to rest on Yuuji’s lower back as he pushes him forward, “Hi Keiji, this is Yuuji.”

Yuuji pushes past the fog in his mind and smiles, bright and genuine, “Hey Akaashi, thanks for making Chikara so happy all those years!”

Keiji smiles, “And thank you for making him happy now.”

Yuuji blinks, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut, “Of course,” he responds, voice filled with awe and sincerity, “I love him.”


	5. MATT Issei doesn't realize he's part of the relationship (December 7th, 2019)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Satori is super tactile 24/7 so Issei doesn't think anything of it and they go out the most often to like the movies and cafes n stuff and Issei doesn't realize they're dates even though Satori kisses his cheek at the end of every outing (Satori is half French so he just figures it's the french thing)  
> Keiji straight-up kisses Issei often but the first time Keiji was just like "Do you like kissing?" n Issei was like "idk?" and Keiji was like "wanna find out if you do?" n Issei was like "well yeah ig" and so Keiji. kissed him n then said he's a good kisser and so Issei just thinks Keiji happens to like kissing him (Yuuji n Satori were also in the room so Issei doesn't have any crisis abt that bc he knows they are okay w Keiji kissing him)  
> Yuuji doesn't quite know how to ask Issei to kiss him and he doesn't want to make the first move because he doesn't want to kiss Issei when he doesn't want to be kissed so they haven't kissed. But Yuuji is almost always touching Issei in some way when they're together, and he’s SUPER cuddly and like they literally sleep together a lot but Issei just thinks it's because Yuuji's cold all the time and he's warm, especially because Takahiro and Tooru are almost as tactile

~5~

Matsukawa Issei may not be the smartest school-wise, but he considers himself to be pretty successful in other areas- like photography.

One thing he doesn’t have the best sense with, though, is romance. 

Example one: Was it a good idea to finally accept an invitation to tea from his middle-blocking rival after they both lost to Karasuno? Maybe. Was it a good idea to continue meeting up, sometimes with Satori’s boyfriend Yuuji coming along? Sure. 

Was it a good idea to continue these meetings after Issei realized he’s starting to develop feelings for both of them? Probably not.

Example 2: When Satori and Yuuji quietly, nervously reveal that they’re also dating someone in Tokyo, an Akaashi Keiji (whom Issei has met before, as Hajime’s cousin), and that they hope Issei isn’t freaked out, Issei assures them that of course he’s fine with that. That in itself wasn’t the bad idea, not even close.

But then Issei let himself  _ hope. _ And sometimes- when you’re around friends that you may or may not be falling in love with, and you hit it off with their  _ very smart, pretty, cool  _ boyfriend- hope can be a very dangerous thing. 

Example 3: When Satori and Issei graduate, Satori asks him to move in with him, as they’re going to the same college in Tokyo, Issei agrees.

Living with Satori is objectively wonderful, he’s pretty neat except for the manga volumes he leaves wherever he sets them down, they have a chore chart, and they have relatively similar schedules.

Because their schedules line up often, they’re able to hang out together fairly often, and the first quarter of their freshman year of college goes by without much issue. 

Satori spends the week-long break between quarters in France with his mom’s side of the family, while Issei goes back to Sendai. 

He spends most of the break with Yuuji,

Keiji and Yuuji 

4

3

2

When Issei makes it back to the apartment he shares with Satori, Keiji, and Yuuji, he’s wholey unsurprised by the disarray he finds their living room in. 

It looks like they pulled every blanket and pillow in the apartment 

~1~

Keiji’s laugh is soft, a sweet sound that you have to be close to hear. Issei’s lucky enough to have Keiji’s back pressed into his side, with his elbow crooked over Keiji’s shoulder and across his chest, holding him close. 

Keiji’s on a video call with one of his old teammates- Bokuto Koutarou- his laptop balancing on his bent knees (the couch is only so big) and his right earbud in, his other ear pillowed by Issei’s chest and shoulder.

Issei’s mostly preoccupied by his phone in his other hand, scrolling through an article he has to read for class, but he can’t help but tune in when he hears his name, “Hm? What’s up?” he turns his head to rest his chin on top of Keiji’s head, waving a bit to Koutarou with his phone.

Koutarou starts speaking on the other end of the call, and Keiji puffs out a fond sigh, “I have headphones in Bokuto-san.”

Koutarou makes a gesture that clearly means, “Then unplug them?” 

Keiji does so, though Issei sees him roll his eyes in the rectangle at the corner of the screen, and Koutarou’s excited voice filters through the speakers, “I was just asking how you all are doing!”

“We’re doing well, I’d say,” Issei says with a small smile, “How’re Oikawa and Kuroo-kun doing?” 

They chat amiably for a while, before Keiji’s computer  _ ding _ s with a notification. 

“Sorry, Bokuto-san, that’s my professor so I have to go.”

“Alright! It was nice talking with you both.” Bokuto waves, and- after Issei says goodbye as well- hangs up.

“Ugh,” Keiji makes a noise of slight repulsion as soon as he finishes reading the email, and Issei hums questioningly, “the only way to get extra credit in this class is if we bring a plus one to the gallery next week, and we can only bring one guest.”

“Why’s that an issue?” Issei asks after a moment of silence.

“I don’t like having to choose,” Keiji says, soft enough that Issei nearly misses it.

It makes sense, to Issei. Having to choose who to be dating in front of people must be tiring. Even as their friends are supportive, being gay and being in a relationship with multiple other men are different levels of accepted. 

Not for the first time, Issei looks at the world in front of him- society’s expectations and hardships- and still wishes he were part of their relationship. The thought is a sharp, biting kind of bittersweet, and Issei wills it away the best he can.

“Just bring me, I’m free then. No choice required.”

Keiji tilts his head back, angling towards Issei’s face, “Okay,” he whispers between them, pressing his, “thank you,” into Issei’s smile.

_ At least I have this. _

_ This casual affection. (Even if it means nothing to them.) _

+1

Yuuji yawns one last time, curling more into Issei’s side, “I’m so glad,” his voice trails off as sleep claims him, “you’re dating us.” 


	6. Teruken hanahaki (July 14th, 2019)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this was v incomplete but like. It was supposed to be a whole thing about Yuuji making Kenma see color more fondly and Kenma making Yuuji appreciate small moments more

The sky is grey today. It rarely is, these days.

_ A shame _ . Kenma thinks. The grey days comfort and welcome him, swirling fog around his form and through his hair, obscuring his features from the eyes of the world.

There are few others out in the wavering world- as few others can stand the grey- all of them blending in with one another and the Grey, allowing it to wrap them in fog, to guide them.

Kenma is grateful for this blurred world, eyes focused on the in-between without having to strain out colors or features, only depth.


	7. Oisemi- sunset, roadtrip, "you know I'm your type, right?"

It starts as most things in Tooru's life start. That is to say, it starts before he realizes it.

Just like his friendship with Hajime, when Tooru didn't realize he'd actually succeeded in making a friend until Hajime thanked him one day, for "being my best friend!". Just like his love for volleyball, when Tooru didn't realize how invested he was until he was nervous he didn't make the team in junior high.

Just like all of the best things in his life, Tooru doesn't realize when his friendship with Semi Eita, Siratorizawa's setter in their first years of high school and pinch server since then, began.

In all honesty, as personal as Tooru's grudge against Wakatoshi is, his grudge against Shiratorizawa as a whole is strictly reserved for the court. They just want to win, to go as far as they can go, to _keep playing with their team_. And honestly, Tooru can't blame anyone for that.

His grudge against Wakatoshi would be the same, had he not insulted the team that he spent all of his high school career building into more than a group of people who play together. The _family_ he built.

There's not a day goes by that there isn't a conversation in the chat that had long since become more for a group of friends than people who play a sport together.

From what Shigeru tells him, the group chat he made for the new generation of the Seijou team is kept strictly to volleyball.

( _"I don't know what to do Oikawa-san,_ " ever so polite, Shigeru, even as he was sometimes sharp and short with his words he never dropped the honorifics, _"The new team, we're a team and we work well together… but we aren't close to the first years, and they don't seem to be interested in being friends outside of volleyball._ "

"Well Yaha-chan, I wouldn't force them. I think the team while I was captain was closer because we were all looking for a family in some sense, and we all had interests we shared outside of volleyball. You're building your own team, a new team. And if they work well together, the rest will follow," Tooru pauses for a moment, gathering the right words, "And in any case, I think our team was special in that we all wanted to be friends outside of volleyball. And if your team doesn't want that that's not on you.")

In any case, his first reaction when he walks into his first class of his first day at college and sees a familiar face is relief. Eita notices him seconds after he walks into the classroom, and to his credit he doesn't react other than to go back to tapping on his phone.

When he _does_ react, it's to Tooru sliding into the seat next to him with a chipper, "Yahoo~"

Eita blinks, before narrowing eyes brimming with questions. He opens his mouth, but at that moment the professor walks in loudly proclaiming that she printed enough syllabi for everyone as long as three people haven't arrived yet.

There's a small collective chuckle, and then class begins. Tooru can feel Eita's eyes on him every so often, and he'd be lying if he said he weren't occasionally sneaking peeks himself.

Eita looks… good, comfortable. His hair is no longer ash blond, but a pastel pink with rose-pink ends. He's wearing a bleached jean jacket that goes to a pale purple at the bottom, with a thin grey hoodie underneath. His jeans are a faded sort of grey and worn thin at the knees. It's a bit jarring to see him in casual clothing. He must really love not being restricted to a high school dress code.

When the professor dismisses the class, Tooru closes his notebook and begins packing up. Eita seems like he wants to say something, but that he ultimately decides against it.

They part ways without exchanging further words.

The class meets again a few days later,

\-----

When Eita said he knew a place and could get them there, Tooru's not sure what he had in mind.

Perhaps an old car and a quilt?

Certainly not a sleek motorcycle pulling up in front of him where he stands in front of the building his last class is in, exactly at 6.

Eita flips up the visor of his helmet, revealing that his brown eyes are lined today with red. His eyes sparkle slightly with mirth at the sight of Tooru gaping, at a loss for words for once, which translates into his tone as he holds out a helmet, "Here."


	8. MHIO pining (July 25th, 2018)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Issei's psychotic in this, and it's hinted he's beat up for 'acting weird', other than that it was just going to be slice-of-life mutual pining growing through high school thing

“Iwa-chan,” Tooru sounds contemplative, voice stemming to the left of Hajime’s head.

Hajime grunts, not opening his eyes or lifting his head, he’s too comfortable for a real response. They’re laying on the floor of Hajime’s room, Hajime’s feet at the opposite wall from Tooru’s, and Hajime has his arms crossed on his chest, while Tooru does who-knows what.

“What if…” Tooru’s voice trails off uncertainly, and Hajime drags himself to a more conscious state, and hums encouragingly.

“What if…” Tooru falters again, and Hajime waits, but Tooru must lose his courage, because he finishes with a rushed, “What if I stole a couple of my sister’s popsicles?”

Hajime lets himself fall further into an almost-sleep, “You’d get in trouble.”

Tooru hums, and it’s shakier than usual, but he doesn’t bring up what he almost said again.

—

That summer is filled with too-hot days, and summer homework, and Tooru’s sister finally giving them a couple popsicles just to get them to stop moping around the house.

It’s filled with meet-ups with the other seco- now third years, and lots of days at the pool.

It’s also filled with Hajime’s growing realization and then horror at the fact that he’s falling hard for his straight friends.

By the time school starts again, Hajime has come to terms with his feelings, and resolved to leave them alone.

Leaving them alone, he quickly learns, means ignoring them until they consume him, along with many nights crying into his pillow.

\-----

It’s not unusual, when Issei doesn’t immediately show up to Hajime’s class for lunch even as other kids from class 1 enter. He stays behind often to talk with a teacher or to go over extra material.

Today, Takahiro gets there first, and they get through one arm wrestling match before Tooru flounces in, moaning about how cold they keep class 6.

Takahiro and Tooru chat away while Hajime tries to get a headstart on homework. And after a while, Hajime notices Tooru’s voice take on a slightly distracted tone, gesturing less than usual. He seems to be listening to the group of boys behind them.

Hajime doesn’t pay much attention to schoolyard chatter, that was more Tooru’s thing. Tooru likes to be generally aware of what’s going on in their grade at least, as one of the more popular kids.

“-was so easy.”

“Didn’t even put up a fight-”

It sounds like they’re talking about a fight, and Hajime tunes in, because that seems like a major thing.

“-n’t believe that sicko’s allowed to play on the- what was it again?”

“Volleyball team.”

Hajime drops his pencil in shock at the same time Tooru stands, his chair making a loud screech as it’s pushed out behind him.

Paying no heed to the way the classroom falls silent, Tooru turns to the class 1 boys, drawn up to his full height. He tilts his head slightly, his eyes narrowing and arms crossing in front of his chest as he looks threateningly down his nose at them, “ _Which_ member of my team did you beat up?”

People keep looking at Tooru, at his lithe build and his higher voice and his doe eyes, and underestimating his strength. Not just mental, but physical.

Right now, as he stares down a few boys who have hurt a friend of his, it’s impossible not to see that strength.

Hajime silently slips away to get a teacher, with a glance to Takahiro, who nods.

Tooru won’t do anything that could get him in trouble, at least not with Takahiro there.

Issei misses practice that day. No one knows what happened, other than rumors.


	9. Horror (Kiyoko & Hitoka) (Sept 5th, 2019)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hitoka becomes a demon in this bc all of the people Kiyoko becomes close with are overtaken by demons in this AU

“I look forward to our time together!” Hitoka says, arm extended in an offer for a handshake.

“Thanks,” Kiyoko hesitantly reaches out her hand.

The handshake feels like a new beginning.

It’s fun at first, as it always is. Being assigned a new partner is always less of a big deal that it seems to be. There’s a question of how well their personalities will mesh, of course, but that’s hardly a big deal.

\-----

_ No. _ Kiyoko knows what’s happening, knows why she needs to run, knows it’s her fault. Her legs don’t wobble with her step back, though she wishes they would, that she would be less calm in the face of what she’s caused.

Hitoka keeps screaming. It’s all she can hear- screaming, screaming,  _ screaming. _ All she can do is close her eyes against the sound. Why she can’t run, as she has all the times before, she doesn’t know. Screaming, screaming,  _ s c r e a m i n g- _

__ The silence is even more deafening. 

Kiyoko dares open her eyes, and for the first time she faces what she has created. 

Hitoka can no longer be called Hitoka- yes, she is physically the same Hitoka who gave Kiyoko that button, all that time ago- but every so often her form will blur, as though being viewed through an unfocused camera.

“I am number 536,” Hitoka’s voice warps and crackles, “I am the first you have accepted.”

_ “I look forward to our time together.” _


	10. fantasy au iwaoi (June 24th, 2018)

He takes a deep breath, looking out across the seemingly-endless stretch of grass in front of him.

The air is cool and crisp, tinged with the faint scent of mint. The idea of a fresh morning impresses upon His mind.

What a headache.

Ahead, a bird is silhouetted by the blood-red sky, plunging through pink then orange then yellow towards the ground.

Just before it meets the earth, He flicks his fingers.

The ear drums of any animal unfortunate enough to be close to the flaming, growing mass are burst with it’s piercing shriek. 

A shriek so loud that His delighted laughter is completely drowned out.

Red irises glow, the dancing flames spreading through the fields reflecting against the black they are set in, and the laughter is stopped by a rush of power returning to His veins.

He aims the delirious grin growing to split His face at the emerald dragon glaring apprehensively at Him from beyond the flames.

“I’m back,” His voice is one that haunts, taunts to the point of insanity. More than one life has been taken by that voice alone. 

The dragon huffs, and in its place stands a man, “Obviously.”

He draws His features into a pout, “that’s no way to greet an old friend, is it  _ Hajime _ ?”

The man huffs in resignation, “what do you want, Oikawa?” 

“To burn down a kingdom.”

Hajime raises an eyebrow, “Whose?”

“Yours.”

“I don’t-“ Hajime shakes his head, “I don’t have a kingdom.”

“Not yet,” Oikawa corrects, “

\---

  
  


Oikawa’s eyes snap open, and he strides forwards, steps light but building tension nonetheless. His blazing irises seem to hold enough power to kill, and the army before them seems to hesitate, holding its breath.

Building its courage.

The air before an older man near the front lines stirs as he mutters, “There’s only one of him.”

Hajime nearly scoffs out loud, but daren’t break the tension Tooru’s been fostering. 

The general calls for them to attack again, his voice weak and barely carrying through the still air, his horse shaking its head and nervously shifting.

The man scowls, before raising his sword and charging forward.

The charge in the air instantly implodes, rushing towards Oikawa and stealing the breaths of the first wave of soldiers, leaving them to cough up blood where they fall.


	11. It's a curse (unrequited iwaoi) (May 2nd, 2018)

Tooru has the curse to fall in love for life. For a long time he thought it was a gift, but as he gazes at Hajime, a straight man, drunkenly kissing a girl he feels his heart stop with jealousy and longing. Then understanding.

It's a curse.

_ It’s a curse. _


	12. Summoning (demons matsuhanaoi) (June 8th, 2018)

The room takes on a stale air, death a high implication with the way the room suddenly glows bright enough for the runes and sigils on the floor to seem shadows. A melody of hunted screams and groans fills the air. It’s a usual show of strength, melodramatic but with a purpose. It’s sometimes enough to disorient summoners into stumbling backwards out of their protective circle.

Not this time, apparently.

Reaching out with their senses, the room comes into focus.

It’s less of a room and more of a structure. There’s no furniture and no embellishments. The floor is a concrete that they chill for maximum discomfort, while the walls seem to be a copper alloy, sparks of electricity coursing through it.

That’s their way out. 

They draw the moisture from the air, making it first unbearably humid for any human and letting it condense along the walls, dripping small zaps of electricity down to pool on the floor, connecting the summoning circle to the wall with water, electricity running through whoever made the mistake of summoning them.

But there are no screams, and they aren’t released. 

They reach out with their magic then, finding that there are two pulsing masses of magic in the circle across their own. Two familiar masses.

Tooru withdraws all their effects and concentrates themself into a handsome humanoid form with horns and a tail, lounging on a conjured couch.

“Makki, Mattsun,” they drawl, polite smile cutting, “why’d you bother summoning me when we could’ve had this chat at home?”


	13. A bunch of prompt starters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These were all in a doc titled "snippets"

It always starts because someone is different. 

The difference doesn’t have to be large, although in this case it was, and it doesn’t have to be obvious, as it wasn’t. 

Someday he might regret it, but for now, life is going just his way.

He knows it’ll turn on a dime, he can see the clock. But that’s okay.

He thrives on the edge.

The air is heavy, charged. It’s what they’re waiting for, something that will never come, looped footage to be derailed not with a resolution, but a distraction. As is with all things. 

  
  


What do you do, when you feel as though the weight of a world is sitting upon your shoulders?

Any sane person would run. The jury is still out on whether or not sanity is something he’s been graced with.

It matters not in this moment, but in a moment far far away. Of course, time is too flimsy to care. 

The world spins on, a mindless motion overseen with more power than even humans wouldn’t know what to do with. 

He doesn’t know where to start.

Over the years it has been seen as a curse. But have you ever heard of a blessing in disguise? (Mortality)

The sound of the ball hitting the other side of the court is always a satisfying noise. Always reassuring. Something the same but always slightly different. It’s something that relies on many many factors, that change the future, but the end is always the same.

The ball always falls.

Sometimes things change and it’s not for the better. Sometimes life kicks you when you’re down. Sometimes it hands you a lollipop and sends you out to war. You have to focus on the lolypop. 

Wishes are hard to come by. They’re made predominantly by children, and oftentimes they are shot down before they can make their way into dreams. 

Waking up can be a lot, sometimes. It’s not something to think about. You have to be on autoplot, because when you realize what you’re doing, what the day expects of you, everything comes crashing down. 

It needs to  _ b u r n _ .

He was never good with people. People themselves always say otherwise, but he didn’t know, he’d taken years to learn. Learn what they like and their customs. But mostly, learn where they’re wrong.

It’s winter. Perhaps this is pointing out the obvious, with white flakes no longer drifting gently down but falling in earnest. It seems like a good time to let go. A huff of breath disturbs the air, and a bitter smile appears on his face. There are many things he could try to let go, but all of them are too monumental, too life-changing. Perhaps that’s the point, to make a change so that you can move on.

He’ll always move on to better and brighter things. That’s what they say, that’s what they see.

People come by here often. It’s not for any particular reason other than habit and loyalty, he’s sure. It’s that way with any business.

Sometimes he’ll stop, and realize how small he is, how big the world is. He can make an impact but he can’t  _ make an impact _ . Humans made it like that, with their technologies and their five degrees of separation. 

Some days he remembers, others he doesn’t. It doesn’t paticularily matter which day is which, as long as it happens,

  
  
  


He doesn’t see it coming, perhaps only a fool would. 

He doesn’t see it coming, when he most needed to.

Digging around in a box is no what he wanted to do today, but he worries not.

This tale starts, as most do, with the smell of ink.

This is not the traditional pen-and-paper rabble that is common of this time. But is instead brought in the solidifying of air above a newborn. (soulbond au)

Keiji stops stocking the shelf, the last book still balanced between his fingers and the shelf, “sometimes,” he says at last, after the silence has stretched, “you don’t find what you’re looking for.”

The thump of the book against the back of the bookshelf is final.


	14. Ennoakateru Father of the Bride au for Liz (Nov 22nd, 2018)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof

“Ohoho! Mistletoe!” Tetsurou teases, laughing at the expressions of the two five year olds standing in the doorway.

Eyes wide, Chikara and Keiji consider each other. 

Chikara leans forward just as Keiji does, and their cheeks are brushed with the most feather-light of touches as the adults giggle and coo around them.

Bass rattles in Chikara’s ribcage, each lyric echoed by the teens who pause to wolf whistle around them. Chikara’s eyes open, meeting with green momentarily before Keiji’s tongue sweeps across the roof of his mouth and he slides them shut again. Chikara can feel his knees start to weaken, and he taps twice against Keiji’s chest.

Keiji nips his lips one more time before they part, the music becoming impossibly louder now that Chikara’s forced to pay attention to it. 

Ignoring the whistles and laughs around them, Chikara meets Keiji’s gaze and holds out his hand.

Keiji shakes it, and Chikara smiles, they’re good.

This is how they roll, casual intimacy because it’s nice. And also slightly to get around Chikara’s dads’ restrictions.

_ “You can go as long as Keiji goes.”  _ has been the answer about the last few parties.

  
  
  


“Where are you going, Keiji?” Tetsurou asks, and everyone turns to look at him. Keiji calmly puts down his waterglass and blinks, formulating a reply. 

Chikara’s curious gaze burns a hole into his soul.

“I haven’t replied to anywhere yet.” Keiji finally decides on. And although there are a few glances around the table, the moment Chikara opens his mouth to question him, Koutarou jumps in with a topic change. 

Keiji ignores Chikara mouthing, ‘We’ll talk later’ at him.

It’s a last-minute decision, even though it’ll affect the rest of his life. Keiji stares at the email he’s composed. All they need now is his direct confirmation. 

He breathes in. Hits send. And immediately feels the stirrings of regret in his gut. His cursor blinks at him, utterly unbothered, and Keiji wants to cry all of a sudden. The  **@ngcu.edu** stares back, unchanged, but it feels like a punch to the gut. 

He’ll be at the same university as Chikara. And Chikara’s boyfriend. 

Keiji stares, unblinking as tears well in his vision.

_ So this is a broken heart being stamped on _ .

  
  
  


"I'm sorry I brought it up." 

"Thank you, Chikara, it's really okay." Keiji stands to rinse out his cup, antsy.

"It's  _ not  _ okay," Chikara pauses, seemingly gathering his thoughts, leaning across the counter he presses on, "If someone was able to make you this sad, I really hope you cut him off."

"No." 

"No?" Chikara's tone isn't accusatory, just curious.

"I love someone who won't love me back. That doesn't make him a bad person. If anything," Keiji's voice wavers, breaking before going smaller, "I broke my own heart, and I'm the only one to blame." He watches the last of the stained water go down the drain, and turns back to face Chikara, only to find Yuuji directly in front of him, arms outstretched in an offer.

Daichi rounds on Koushi, “You  _ kNEW _ ?!”

“Well, yeah.” Koushi shrugs.

"Why didn't you tell me?!”

"Why  _ would _ I tell you? You would've embarrassed our poor son and tracked down who that young man was!"

“Of course I wouLD TRACK DOWN THE ONE WHO TOOK MY SON’S VIRGINITY!”

Keiji’s head peaks around the wall dividing the kitchen and the family room, “You called?”

Back in the living room, Yuuji chokes on his drink and Chikara turns his attention from the movie.

Daichi stands gaping for a moment, flabbergasted, his gaze flicking from Koushi to Keiji as Tetsurou and Koutarou laugh uproariously from the living room. Finally he seems to somewhat collect himself, “You,” he pauses, swallowing as though that’ll stop the shaking of his voice, “You took my son’s virginity?”

“Yep,” Keiji says with his lips only slightly upturned as he fights a smik, “It was just  _ wonderful _ .”

“If it was so wonderful,” Chikara yells from the other room, “Why’d you pretend to forget then?”

Koutarou and Tetsurou’s laughter gets impossibly louder.

Daichi’s face skews, as though he can’t decide what expression to make, “You WeRe UNdER THe InFLuEncE WHiLe YoU FuCkED My SoN?!”

In the living room, Chikara throws up his hands, “Why do people always assume I’m the bottom?!”

Keiji ignores the way Daichi’s eye has begun to twitch, “Of course not. I follow the law.”

“Yeah you just pretended to hit your head falling out of bed the next day!” 

Koutarou and Tetsurou may no longer be breathing.


	15. Oikawa (handshake emoji) Issei Psychotic solidarity (June 2nd, 2018)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to be able to finish this one ;n;

Tooru answers an ask from Issei’s tumblr about having psychosis Issei borrows Tooru’s phone and gets a tumblr notif ad clicks it and sees the blog name and is like shit man and starts sending nice messages And then one day Tooru replies to an ask during lunch and Issei’s phone lights up with the notif and Tooru notices the screen and is like shit man and one day during college after like a couple of week with no contact and no asks he dms Issei’s tumblr like “Are you alright?” and then like four hours with no response nd then a notif like “hey new phone who dis? Jk jk it’s his friend” and a few seconds later he gets a new follower “Pink McNoBrows” Tooru recognizes Takahiro because  _ duh  _ and panics and calls Issei’s phone and Takahiro answers and Tooru is like “Is Issei okay? Why didn’t he pick up?” and Takahiro’s like “oh he went to the bathroom” and then Issei can be heard like “Hey who’s on the phone?” and Takahiro says “Tooru” and Issei is like “Coolio tell him I said ‘Hi school is killing me’” and Tooru kind of relaxes and then they chat for a bit before Tooru has to go to practice. 

A week later Tooru kind of… logs off of everything except tumblr and doesn’t respond to texts. His teammates kind of question him (esp Koutarou and Tettchan) but he spouts some bs about living in the moment and they laugh and let it go and TOoru just,,, shuts himself off except for tumblr and classes and vball practice. THen he gets a tumblr notif “Yeah school’s been really stressful though. Hbu?” and ignores it. A few days into his shut-off Tooru posts a thing about how his mood had sunk but at least his grades aren’t suffering. He gets a few asks and largely ignores them. The next day he takes the battery out of his phone completely and doesn’t check tumblr at all. The next day he doesn’t have any classes + it’s a rest day and Koutarou and Tettchan have already left for their trip to their homes so TOoru just… stays in bed.

And then he gets bored so he opens his laptop and his email and he has an ask that just says , “You’re going to hate me for this but we’re coming to Tokyo” and he answers like “Don’t” and Pink McNoBrows sends an ask like “Oikawa?? Tf???” and then Issei rbs the ask with “Too late get the door”

\-----

Tooru wakes up again, feeling less like he’s drowning. That should be good, because next he’ll be antsy and go on a cleaning spree or something but right now he just. Doesn’t want that.

Of course, his body has never had any regard for what he wants, and staring at the ceiling doesn’t give him much choice except to pay attention to when the lead flowing in his veins turns to electricity. 

Tooru resists as long as he can, until the feeling of being still hurts too much and his body spasms as though he’s been punched in the gut. 

He doesn’t feel like doing something physical, still sore from practice that morning, and so he decides on school work. He can then hopefully redirect his energy into working. 

Tooru stands, wincing at the popping of his joints, and walks to open the blinds of the window over his desk. After a moment of contemplation, he opens the window a crack as well.


	16. tetsurou loves too easily (September 15th, 2018)

Tetsurou doesn’t like his heart. 

Well, he says he doesn’t like his heart but he knows it’s his brain, with his soul. He’s still going to say heart though, for the sole purpose of convenience. 

The reason he doesn’t like his heart is that he gets crushes much too easily. 

Usually, Tetsurou just brushes the feelings off. Puts them in a box in the furthest corner of his mind to wither away. 

There are a few girls, a few boys. 

He never confesses. 

Instead, Tetsurou gets good at hiding his feelings.

At first, he wasn’t good at hiding them at all. 

It hurt worse, when he didn’t know how to hide them. It was more of an issue with the girls than the boys because, ha, heteronormativity. 

When he was younger, but old enough to be able to identify his feelings as crushes, that was when things got difficult.

He didn’t know how to hide them, and feelings were obvious, and the girls picked up on them no problem and he lost friendships. 

With boys things were different, because his crushes on them he always mistook for admiration. They were never picked up on.

Internalized heteronormativity only gets you so far though, and Tetsurou quickly realized that they were crushes, and that it didn’t matter if the person were a girl or boy or something else, as long as he liked them.

He hid those crushes too, in a special box in his mind labeled self-discovery.

\---

Tetsurou hates his heart, hates how he gets attached too easily. Because this time, he doesn’t even see the person in real life. Doesn’t even hear their laugh. Doesn’t meet their eyes. Isn’t even across the net from them.

He sees him on TV. 

There’s raw power in a spike, 

\---

He was twelve, he thinks, and there was one girl. She was in his class, with shorter black hair streaked with blue dye. 

At first, he just watched her with vague interest, marveling at her hair and how she seemed to always be reading.

And then they got paired together for a group project, and he got to actually know her as a person. She dyed her hair because she liked blue, she read a lot because she loved magic, and there was more he learned. She liked bowling, and can’t sing, but loved to hum.

They became friends. She joined him and the team at lunch, she came over to his house a couple of times, and she met Kenma and they got along well.

It was really only a matter of time, he would later recognize with the bittersweet tinge of an almost-regret of a friend lost, before he got a crush.

She could tell. 

She knew.

Because he wasn’t able to hide his feelings.

Because with every glance at her his eyes filled with adoration. Because he took every chance he could to be close to her. 

It was too much pressure for a fellow twelve-year-old, and one day she confronted him. 

“Look, Tekkun,” he could tell she was struggling, that what she was going to say would determine a small piece of their future, “you’re sweet, and kind, and I like you a lot. But,” she scuffed her shoe in the dirt, and Tetsurou refused to follow her gaze to the ground. He knew what was coming, but it still hurt. “I can tell you have a crush on me and it’s gotten really hard to be around you, so.” 

Tetsurou nodded in understanding, but she shook her head and continued, “I don’t think we should be friends anymore!” She rushed through the sentence, as though it were something she wanted to be rid of.

There was a moment of silence, and then Tetsurou swallowed the lump in his throat, “I understand.” 

Though his voice was small, it didn’t waver.

He went home and cried that day, because he was twelve, and felt like nothing had ever hurt more.

Now he knows pain much greater. 


	17. kyouhaba Persephone au (Jan 9th, 2018)

“You know,” Shigeru said casually the third time Kentarou met him, sitting by a pond staring after the ducklings Shigeru startled away, "you're more hostile than I figured a nature aligned god would be. Don't you scare away bunnies with that scowl?"   
"Who says I scowl at bunnies? I’m not you, you fake fuck."   
Shigeru smiles and laughs and maybe Kentarou's imagining the bitter edge of it. He must be.    
"Can I see it then?"   
"Hah?"   
"Your lovely smile of course!" Shigeru flashes him a grin that's all teeth and grows more genuine with the angry flush (because it is an  _ angry _ flush) that Kentarou can feel spreading across his face, and the startled laugh when Shigeru dodges the rock Kentarou chucked at him is the realest sound Kentarou's heard from him yet, which may be why he settles for the slightly less aggressive response of, "You're not a damn bunny,  _ underworld-sama. _ "

He feels more than sees Shigeru stiffen in the way the atmosphere stales. 

After the silence stretches too thick for Kentarou to deal with, he turns to see Shigeru with hardened features, and Kentarou opens his mouth to- He isn’t sure what. Apologize? Snap Shigeru out of it?- but before he can, the god of the underworld has disappeared. 

Kentarou shrugs and turns back to the ducklings that move closer without death looming near them.

Kentarou can’t get the moment out of his head, and he finds it pop in his head later, as he 


	18. Until next time (January 9th, 2019)

One thing, he guesses, can lead to another.

As he sees his fate flying towards him, he knows he won’t make it; and so, Tooru stops struggling.

Instead of struggling, he resolves himself to his fate. Instead of struggling, he pulls up his favorite memories.

Hajime turns just in time to see the rubber bullet slam into Tooru’s chest.

“Goodbye, Iwa-chan,” Tooru chooses his last words carefully, and the wind takes pity on him and carries his words to Hajime, his other half.

As Tooru falls, pitched backwards over the cliff he’d found first love on, he closes his eyes, and makes his wish.

_May we meet again… Iwa_


	19. MATT prequel (all have psychosis) (Jan 28th, 2019)

Issei is just starting his third year in junior high when everything gets better. His parents finally send him to a therapist, who recommends a psychiatrist. Issei doesn’t really remember his childhood.

All he knows is time passed and specific memories. It’s like his childhood was a wall that he threw darts at to decide which memories to keep.

And even then, his specific memories are scary accurate from when he was supposedly to young to remember, and tainted with things that were untrue.

As a child he got migraines often. Not just child’s headaches, but actual migraines. His mom likes to laugh about how the doctors brushed her off until she brought Issei in in the middle of one and he was rushed to the hospital.

Now, his therapist thinks they were because he was experiencing sensory overload, and to Issei it makes sense.

After all, he couldn't've always known how to block out the random screams, bells, and alarms going off around him.

No one in his school really is his friend. Yes, he knows people through his classes and volleyball, but none of them know him further than his name and things he's shared. No one bothers to try to get to know him better, and Issei can't help but feel glad. He's not sure how he acted before therapy and medication started, and he's not sure he even wants to know.

Tokyo is big enough that he's sure he won't see most of the people at his school again anyway.

And then, in the middle of his third year, he finds out why friendship is so nice.

\---

It's a Tuesday, the volleyball team's rest day, and Issei has therapy.

Luckily the building the therapist's office is in has a host of other businesses in them, one of which is where his mom works.

Issei steps into the waiting area for the therapist offices and sits down, pulling out his phone.

After a few minutes, Issei looks up at the sound of a door opening.

In steps a boy who looks to be around Issei's age, with curly black hair and green eyes. He looks startled, and that's when Issei realizes he's familiar.

The other boy sits down across from Issei and pulls out his own phone, looking up at Issei every so often.

Issei also glances up a few times before he realizes where he knows the other boy from. The next time they make eye contact, Issei asks, “You're from the volleyball club, right?”

The other boy nods hesitantly, “Yes, I am.” His voice is smooth and soft, “You're Matsukawa-san, the middle blocker?”

Issei nods, “And you're Akaashi-kun?”

The other boy nods again, and then there's silence.

The silence wouldn't be awkward if one of them went back to their phones, but neither of them did.

This conversation, for some reason, felt important.

Then one of the therapists walks into the waiting room, and Keiji stands.

That moment may have been lost, but there were many other days that they found themselves in that waiting room together. Sometimes they'd talk, and other times they'd sit in comfortable silence. It was nice, and after they exchanged numbers Issei would go so far as to say he's found something more than a passing acquaintance in the other boy.

They still didn't talk much during practice, or school at all really. But Issei isn't bothered, after all, what easily explained reason would they have for talking at school?

That also changed a bit further into the school year.

\---

Issei arrives at practice a bit earlier than normal, so he has to wait for the adviser to arrive and open the clubroom.

He doesn't have to wait long, although he'll have to help set up once he's dressed out.

The next person to arrive gets there just as Issei's closing his locker.

Keiji walks in in a bit of a rush, in a way that other people probably wouldn't notice but Issei recognizes from his own experience. Keiji's posture and the way every time he blinks his eyes have cut to another part of the room suggest he feels like he's being watched or followed.

Issei takes a step towards him, ready to bring it up or help, but then the next person, the captain, arrives. He claps Issei on the back and makes a joke about Issei being early and responsible, and Issei gives a cursory laugh and, with one last glance in Keiji's direction, heads to the gym.

Keiji's… off. During practice. His eyes are darting around and focusing between other players, instead of on them, and his muscles are tensed, his movements quick and jerky.

He's just getting more and more wound up and before Issei can say something, Keiji moves left quickly, and then he's on the ground, hitting too hard face-first.

To anyone else, it looks like Keiji's tripped or slipped when he moved left, but Issei saw the truth.

He saw a receive of a ball that wasn't there on a floor that seemed lower than it was.

Everyone else is frozen and silent, staring as Keiji shakily pushes up on his elbows, but Issei quickly dashes under the net, calling behind him, “I'll take him to the nurse!”

By the time they reach the nurse, Keiji is shaking so badly that he's spasming, and Issei is grateful that no one's there yet. He guides Keiji to the bed and starts talking, going through grounding techniques, describing the room and squeezing Keiji's hands and making noise until Keiji's shaking goes down to only his hands.

“You good?” Issei finally asks, and Keiji nods.

“Sorry you had to deal with that.”

“It's fine,” Issei reassures, “I know seeing things is no fun.”

Keiji jolts a bit at that, finally looking Issei in the eyes, “How did you know?”

“Because I recognized things I do,” Issei shrugs.

Keiji's eyes widen and gloss over a bit, “It is difficult” he agrees, and they sit in silent understanding support until the nurse enters the room to fuss over Keiji. They both pretend the few tears that have escaped Keiji's eyes are from physical pain.

From then on they're friends at school, too. Issei would go so far as to call Keiji his best friend, and he knows Keiji feels the same way.

They even start going over to each other's houses. Issei's parents are thrilled, as he's never invited anyone over, and from the way Keiji's parents react to Issei, he can tell the same has been true for Keiji.

It's during one of these visits, at Issei's house, that things irrevocably change again.

\---

Summer started with little fanfare, Keiji leaving his second year of junior high, and Issei leaving junior high altogether.

They aren't too bothered that they won't be at the same school anymore, seeing as they both are in Tokyo within a couple of blocks of each other, and they have each other's numbers.

A few weeks into the summer they're hanging out in Issei's room, talking about something innocuous, when Issei's dad walks in.

“Hello boys,” he starts with a fond smile before addressing Issei, “Your mom got a promotion!”

“That's great!” Issei says, smiling wide.

“There is something that goes along with that,” Issei's father says, his voice going softer, as though one wrong word would send them running, “We have to move to Miyagi.”

Keiji freezes, and Issei makes a strangled noise.

“We'll be moving in a few weeks, so you have to pack quickly…” Issei's father sighs, “I'm sorry.”

Issei doesn't notice his father leaving, busy blinking back tears and ignoring the screams of protest chipping away at his skull and the alarms ringing in his ears.

And then Keiji's in front of him, talking in a soothing tone and applying pressure to his hands.

Although Issei’s calmed down, things don’t change. He still has to move, and still has to switch therapists, and schools.

At least it’ll be the first year of high school, so he won’t stand out too much.

But Keiji won’t be there.

—

Issei’s family has done their research, and have already located a therapist’s office near his new home. They’ve also signed him up for weekly group therapy.

Issei and Keiji text as often as possible, through breaks in moving.

And then school starts.

Everything seems to go well enough. The other first years are nice enough, two of them seeming really close, and the third seems easy-going and fun.

At least, everything seems to be going well enough. Until one of the first years- the spiky haired one- yells, “Shittykawa stop doing that!”

Issei freezes, turning to the spiky-haired boy in dismay, “What did I do?”

Spiky-hair freezes, and starts stuttering as the other first year- the one spiky hair seems close to who looks like a model- cackles.

The pink/brown haired first year looks like this is the best moment of his life, and Issei’s still confused.

“He- You’re not- Uhhhhhhh- No!” The spiking haired one cuts himself off to yell at pink-hair, “Stop laughing Hanamaki!”

Hanamaki takes a deep breath before laughing obnoxiously loud, and on the other side of the court there’s a thump as the model-looking first year falls over, still wheezing with laughter.

The spiky hair one facepalms and takes a deep breath, before walking upto Issei and saying calmly, “His name,” he juts his thumb back towards the model-first-year, “is Oikawa. I was calling him shittykawa. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

And thus, Issei made his first friends in his new home.

—

He has group therapy after practice.

It’s honestly… pretty nerve-wracking. Knowing that he’s going to go and get to know more people for the purpose of spilling his life to them.

Maybe Issei is panicking too much. Maybe he should have done actual research on the place the group therapy is hosted at instead of just looking up statistics.

The drive there is much faster than Issei would have liked, his father talking every once in a while, asking questions about school and practice that Issei answers absentmindedly.

And then he’s there. It’s a welcoming room, with comfy chairs set up in a circle and posters covering the walls.

He’s a bit early, and as such there’s only a couple people there. There’s an adult with a clipboard talking to a kid who looks to be maybe a year younger than Issei. He has an undercut, with the top bleached blond, and sharp features. His voice is nice, and Issei feels like maybe they’ll get along.

They look over when he lets the door swing closed, and Issei waves nervously, “Hello.”

“Hey!” the kid with the undercut exclaims, “Haven’t seen you around here before, welcome!”

The adult checks his clipboard, “You must be Matsukawa-kun, right?”

“That’s me,” Issei says, relaxing slightly with the knowledge that he’s in the right place.

“Terushima-kun will explain the rules while I mark down that you made it.”

Terushima beckons him over to a desk in the corner of the room, pointing out the rules sheet and telling Issei to, “Feel free to ask if you have any questions.”

The rules are mostly common sense, like “No bigotry or hate allowed” and then there are a few that remind Issei that this is a place for people who are mentally ill to feel safe, like “No loud noises, such as yelling” and “ask if people are okay with being touched before high-fives and other physical contact”. It’s… nice, to have a place that feels like a safe zone.

Another person walks in just after Issei finishes the rules, and Terushima looks over before grinning wide, launching himself at the newcomer with a happy cry of, “Satori!” Issei notes that, if not for the rules, Terushima would probably have yelled that, and that he seems very exuberant.

The other boy is just taller than Issei with a shock of red hair standing up in a way not unlike Issei remembers one of his middle school opponents, Bokuto’s, hair being. He puts up his arms with a happy exclamation of “Yuuji!”


	20. Werewolf & Witch iwaoi(Dec 22nd, 2019)

Oikawa Tooru loves his life, he really does. He has a good, stable career doing what he loves, he has good friends, and a house to call home.

But right now he’s miserable.

He’d stayed a bit too late practicing and working on promotional videos for his team’s upcoming match, and therefore missed the last train. His house isn’t too far from the training center- about the same distance as his morning jog- but there’s a distinct chill in the air biting into his fingers and clawing at his back that warns that autumn is nearly over.

It’s nearly welcoming, a good match with the silver moon and cold stars that light his path where street lamps don’t.

His house is only about a block away when he hears it- a small, muffled whimper


	21. Matsuteru shirt (Jan 12th, 2020)

Yuuji goes to Issei’s house and stays the night

Issei forgot to tell Yuuji he’s having the 3rd years over the next day

Yuuji goes downstairs in one of Issei’s hoodies

They go wild

\-----

Yuuji yawns and turns the corner from the hallway into the kitchen, blearily rubbing his eyes with one hand and grabbing a glass with the other.

He absentmindedly fishes grape juice out of the fridge, and fills his glass. As he takes his first sip he turns to the counter that divides the kitchen from the sitting area.

And promptly chokes, meeting the eyes of the Seijoh third years.

“Uhhhh, ‘sup?” his voice progressively goes up in pitch.

“Mattsun,” Takahiro whispers, loud in the silence, “Is that your shirt?”

Yuuji quickly looks down and _he’s still wearing Issei’s shirt_. He immediately feels his face go red.

“Yeah,” Issei answers easily enough, though his ears are blazing red.


	22. Missing you kuroken (Feb 9th, 2020)

Kuroo Tetsurou misses Kenma. It’s a simple, easy fact, a certainty in this world where truths are hard to come by.

Tetsurou misses Kenma like a part of his soul is aching. Not missing, no- he’s a full person on his own, and all things told Kenma doesn’t need him.

But he’s not at his best without Kenma.

Kuroo Tetsurou loves Kozume Kenma, and that is a not-so-simple truth.

It’s his first year of college, his first year of not seeing Kenma at least once everyday, and it’s harder than he thought it’d be.


	23. Mermaid soulmates MATT (Feb 12th, 2020)

Seashells found on the beach carry the sound of the ocean from which they came.

This is fairly common knowledge.

Good thing Satori has more than just common knowledge, as a mermaid.

Seashells found on the beach may carry the sound of the ocean from which they came, but shells found abandoned on the ocean floor carry sounds from the area in which they were drowned.

He has a small collection, in all his wanderings he has requested a shell from each place he’s visited. They provide a means of communication to people he would otherwise have never met. His travels have taken him far from his original home in warmer waters.

In all his searching, he has found his soulbond- A bond blessed upon all with salt-water flowing through their blood by the Sun, the Moon, the Sand, and the Ocean.

And in all his searching, the bond didn’t feel fulfilled by Yuuji. At first, they didn’t understand, didn’t know what to do.

They spent many tide-cycles together, floating along the sand in shallow waters just talking. Wondering about life, about love, and about what it means to be happy.

Yuuji’s part of the bond is blessed by Sun. Usually this would mean Satori’s half of the bond would be blessed by Sand, and provide balance. And yet, Satori’s bond is blessed by Ocean.

_“Satori,” Yuuji’s motions are uncharacteristically subdued, “there are others who think we got confused, that when we fell in love and our bond Revealed, it was a mistake.”_

_Satori flicks a fin to turn onto his stomach, pressing his hands softly against the sand beneath where they float, watching passively as Yuuji’s hands fall back to his chest, the last whistled word fading out._

_He just watches for a moment, Yuuji’s brown hair gently waving in the push-and-pull of the water, his gold-flecked tail, white as the sand below with his fin flicking every so often to keep himself in place. He looks frozen in time, like that._

_Even the worried downtwitch of his lips couldn’t stop Satori’s desperate hope to keep this moment in his mind forever._

_“Do you?” Satori asks, clicking the question as he uses his hands to move closer, so they’re pressed side-by-side, close enough for Satori to lift a hand from the sand to roll Yuuji to face him, to tuck him close to his chest so he can feel their hearts beat in time._

_Yuuji’s gills flare- once, twice- before he whistles a sure note, “no.”_

_Satori taps his fin reassuringly against Yuuji’s, “Neither do I,” he clicks in Yuuji’s ear._

_“But,” Yuuji hesitantly clicks after a moment, waiting for Satori’s nod to continue, “I do think we should go see a whisperer.”_

_Satori stills a bit at the mention of a whisperer, one who can hear the will of the water, and starts to sink a bit before he recovers their position._

_“Alright.”_

The whisperer had told them that their bond was relatively rare, in that they would have two others, blessed by Moon and Sand, to complete their bond.

And so, Satori set off again, this time with Yuuji by his side.


	24. Softe Kuroken (Feb 18th, 2020)

Tetsurou never thought he’d get so lucky as to have the love of his life curled in his arms. Truth be told- he never expected to have a love like this.

Perhaps he’d always thought love was something loud, something big and extravagant. He never gave much thought to the idea that love like that fades, loses its novelty.

Perhaps he’d believed that the best love is love at first sight, the idea that you’d make eye contact, see each other smile, and never stop chasing that smile.

In any case, no matter what he believed, he hadn’t expected love to


	25. Kuroken waking up traveling(Feb 18th, 2020)

Kenma wakes up in an unfamiliar bed in a familiar situation- a solid warmth at his back, an arm pulling him close, and a quietly rumbling snore.

Squinting towards the green glare of the analog clock on the nightstand until he can make out the blinking 6am, Kenma takes a moment to curse his inability to stay asleep in unfamiliar places. Tetsurou doesn’t seem to have that problem, at least, his breath warm across the top of Kenma’s head as he snores away, oblivious.

Kenma scrunches his nose at the world in generl and closes his eyes again, focusing on the familiar sound of Tetsurou’s breathing, the familiar warmth of Tetsurou surrounding him.

He’s ultimately unsuccessful, and when Tetsurou’s alarm goes off half-an-hour later for his morning workout Kenma’s still staring across the hotel room, memorizing the pattern on the opposite wall.


	26. Shapeshift kuroken 1

Tetsurou is a shapeshifter and Kenma is a witch but Kenma is the first witch in his family since his grandmother on his mom’s side so other than his grandmother no one in his family knows and since Tetsurou doesn’t know Kenma’s magic he doesn’t say anything about his magic. They’re online friends on an app you must use magic to access but they don’t know that they’re each other. Also pining. And worry on Tetsurou’s end about what his family will think about him not continuing the bloodline KENMA’S ONLINE NAME IS Kodzuken AND THEN HE MAKES HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL W IT AND THAT’S HOW TETSUROU FINDS OUT

Kuroo Tetsurou is sitting on the floor by the coffee table, cursing under his breath at his textbook with papers strewn all around him, when his phone buzzes

 **Kenma:** i’m coming over  
 **Kenma:** i need to get away from my siblings for a bit

 **Kuro:** of course! Door’s unlocked n ‘Kawa’s out at practice

 **Kenma:** thanks. Come get the door

Tetsurou blinks, reading the message again in case he read it wrong, before there’s a knock on the apartment door.

 _Oh shit he’s like. Here_.

“I’ll be there in a second!” Tetsurou calls before assessing his situation. He has nowhere to step without ruining some papers. After a second of consideration, Tetsurou decides his best option is to shift.

Tetsurou, as a large, fluffy black cat, carefully steps through the papers, taking care not to wrinkle them.

He reaches the edge of the papers and shifts back, running a hand through his hair before he opens the door to find a mildly-frazzled looking Kenma on the other side.

Kenma pushes


	27. Shapeshift kuroken ver 2 (march 1st, 2020)

In Tokyo, around the corner from the university dorms, there’s a bit of shelter. It is small and run down, and it would be too far a stretch to call it a building, or a room. It’s built into the unused corner of a block of apartments, maybe a couple square feet all around, with a couple of planks haphazardly nailed together on one open side, with a large slab of tin serving as a makeshift roof.

At the moment this story begins, it is raining, and this small space is providing a sort of refuge.

Rain patters down on the tin more forcefully than it has any right to, creating a loud enough roar that any other sounds are mercilessly drowned in. Including the desperate, self-assuring purring of the black cat that is cowering there, licking his wounds as he presses his small form as firmly against the concrete of the apartment building as he can.

Kuroo Tetsurou is a familiar, technically. His father was a shapeshifter, his mother a witch. He is all magic, and part animal, and that makes a familiar.

As he’s technically an ‘unbound familiar’, he’s summonable, which is an unfortunate circumstance of his existence when he’s just trying to lay low, maybe get a degree.

His latest summoner is probably not a bad kid but has a dog, and also summoned Tetsurou from the shower, forcing him to shift into his cat form or expose himself. And, well, that dog does _not_ like him.

He’s managed to escape the dog, perhaps only by virtue of the rain that he’s now cursing at in his mind.

He’s very fortunate that at that moment a resident of the apartment building happens to be rounding the corner, his umbrella catching on the edge of the tin roof just enough to startle Tetsurou into yowling loudly.

The resident, a university student with two-toned hair, freezes where he is, before turning to the opening of the shelter.

Tetsurou’s first thought is _witch_ , because in that moment he finds himself staring into eyes almost as gold as his own.

But the student doesn’t seem to recognize the gleam of magic that always halos him, instead crouching down and slowly offering a hand for Tetsurou to sniff.

“Hello there, kitty,” the boy says gently, his voice soothing in a way Tetsurou didn’t expect, “What’re you doing here?”

Tetsurou cautiously stretches out his neck, still pressing firmly against the wall, and appraises the offered hand. Upon sensing no magic clinging to him, Tetsurou presses forward into the warmth.

“You’re freezing… and you must be hungry,” the boy sounds contemplative, and Tetsurou presses harder against his hand in agreement.

“Alright,” the boy mutters, almost to himself, “let’s get you inside.”

Tetsurou goes “mrrrpp?” in surprise as he finds himself gently picked up, and pressed to the front of the hoodie


	28. Kuroken soulmates enemies to friends to lovers (March 29th, 2020)

Kuroo Tetsurou is annoying. He’s on the volleyball team, he and his roommate throw a lot of parties, and for some reason he chooses Kenma to mess with.

And Kenma’s so tired of it.

—

The first class they had together was a gen ed history class. Kenma sat squarely in the middle of the classroom, where it was easy enough to see the board but not close or far enough from the teacher that he’d be called out often.

Kuroo usually sat in the back corner, and initially Kenma had no issue with him.


	29. MATT compass soulmate (May 10th, 2020)

Yuuji was looking forward to his 17th birthday, despite what other people think.

His “playboy” looks and somewhat flirty attitude made him seem to others like someone who would dread their soulmarker. Someone who’d see soulmarkers as a limitation.

Yuuji knows better than most that soulmarkers aren’t a limitation, or anything of the sort. He fully recognizes that there are platonic soulbonds, and that while your soulbond might be who you’re most comfortable with, that doesn’t mean you won’t find someone else you romantically click with more.

He understands most of all that a soulmarker doesn’t point to an effortless relationship.

Like any relationship, romantic or otherwise, soulbond relationships still have to be worked on. Most people who completely fall out with their soulmates are people who assumed that it would be easy, and force themselves into love early, again, romantic or otherwise.

You can’t force feelings.

The point of soulmarkers is to direct you to someone you find it nice to be around, and to encourage you to make it work.

This is what Yuuji believes, wholeheartedly.

He looks forwards to the adventure that the rest of his life will be, alongside someone else.

Which is part of why he’s pacing around the living room at 4:27am, his sister laughing at him from the couch.

“But what if they hate me right away? What if they don’t want to try?” Yuuji whines, waving his arms.

“They’ll love you, and they’ll want to try, don’t worry so much!” Misaki Terushima reassures, checking her phone again.

“HhhhhhHHHHHHH” Yuuji crouches down and combusts, “Why was I born at 4:30 in the morning?!”

Misaki rolls her eyes, checking her phone again, “one minute.”

Yuuji makes a pathetic sound from the floor and she rolls her eyes again, “You know they might be younger than you and you’ll get the birthday marker countdown.”

Yuuji sighs, flopping on his back on the carpet, “I know.”

The birthday marker countdown is a countdown to the younger’s birthday, at which point the actual soulmarker would appear for both people.

Then Yuuji feels a tingling on his wrists, and sits up with wide eyes, staring as ink magically traces out marks on his wrist.

A compass finally appears on his left wrist, it’s needle indicating the direction of his soulbond.

But- It’s not his only soulmarker.

He has a birthday countdown directly below it, and on his right wrist…

“Coordinates,” Yuuji gasps, and Misaki immediately stands.

“Want to go now or in the morning?”

Yuuji considers, on the one hand, the two older soulbonds are probably awake, considering they had a countdown to now, but on the other hand their families, but also…

“Now,” Yuuji says, trying his best to keep his excitement contained.

“I’ll get the keys, you get presentable.” Misaki says, already moving.

Yuuji nods, running upstairs to change out of his pajamas. He puts on a simple black shirt and jeans, before running back down the stairs.

Misaki is waiting for him by the car when he gets there, and she spins the keyring around her finger, “Let’s go, before you get scared.”

Yuuji protests a bit, but hurries into the passenger seat nonetheless.

The ride is short, heading towards Aoba Johsai, the silence broken only by google maps directing them towards the coordinates.

They end up only a couple blocks away from Aoba Johsai, and


	30. Satori's Paradise (May 20th, 2020)

When Satori loses his paradise, it doesn’t take long for him to realize his first priority should finding a new one.

His first year of university, this is easy enough. His roommate is hardly ever in- apparently his girlfriend lives close-by and he would be living with her if first-years weren’t required to live in the dorms- so it’s easy enough to curl up in bed, letting the hours slip through his fingers as he reads and thinks.

Yes, first year was easy enough, his paradise became a place rather than an activity with friends. And for Satori, it was nearly enough.

If he were more honest with himself, he would admit that


	31. Urban fantasy MATT (June 6th, 2020)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Immortal Yuuji, Water spirit Keiji, night breeze vessel Issei, Wandering spirit Satori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Drowning

Keiji just smiles, drawing him closer to the water.

By the time the music starts, Yuuji’s in to his waist. It twists and rises jovially, hands clapping and Keiji’s voice joining in in a language Yuuji feels like he once knew, but has long since forgotten.

Keiji starts swaying, pushing towards Yuuji and then away, until his wrists strain at the pull. He’s dancing, Yuuji realizes, and so he laughs and lets himself be led.

Twirling and hopping and laughing until Yuuji feels almost drunk on joy. Keiji leads him to the side again- in to their armpits now, and Yuuji can feel a current curiously nipping at his ankles- and Yuuji is spun one last time, the far-off lights of the city streaking his vision before he’s dipped, low into the water.

The moon seems to wink at him, through dark waters. Keiji’s nowhere to be seen, and the music echoes strangely before dying out. Yuuji feels a strange, stagnated sort of fear grip his heart as the current- that was oh so playful earlier- keeps hold of his ankle.

He takes a deep gulp of water that rushes down, the coughing that follows making it worse. He feels his lungs as the water rushes through them with far too much force, snapping his ribs and ripping soft tissue.

He can not think, only _feel_. And he _feels_ and _feels_ as he drowns once- then twice.

The world is blurred as he resurfaces, the river tiring of a boy who could not die.

* * *

(“Why not?” Keiji had asked that night.

Issei shook out his wings and said nothing, disappearing with the darkness as the sun rose from beyond the city.)

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, I still love comments


End file.
